and fearing retribution on the headlines. with murdock on the ropes, the silence has beenbroken.scotlandyardreleased a statement saying that the steady leaks to the media are getting in the way of their investigation. but scotland yard itself is being accused of being in on the scandal. >>> leon panetta has been to iraq and afghanistan before but never as defense secretary, that happened this weekend, he's only been on the job for 11 days and already those traveling with him say there's been an unmistakable change at the top at the pentagon. jim miklaszewski is traveling with him and tonight has an exclusive interview with the secretary. >> reporter: the new secretary of defense leon panetta surveyed iraq from a u.s. military helicopter today and was trou e troubled by the landscape below. troops scheduled to withdraw by the end of the are caught up again in the war. panetta told a gathering of soldiers today the killing must end. >> my first responsibility as secretary of defense is to make damned sure that we do everything necessary to protect you. >> reporter: panetta pressured ira

is striking their own balance between the new and the old. and from the response they've receivedinscotland, itseems to be working. stephanie gosk, nbc news, edin brou >>> that's nbc nightly news for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on today. i'll see you tomorrow morning on today. good night, everyone. captions paid for by nbc-universal television